Here are the Letter Boxed May 16, 2025 Answers from New York Times Games. Our solutions and answers are 100% valid and accurate. We suggest trying to solve the game on your own before using the help of our website.
Sides of this Letter Box are:
QOIEMSUCTNHV
The answers are:
MOCHIINQUISITIVE
MISCHIEVOUS – SQUINT
under a minute
Same, but took me longer. Kept trying to find something with “Equi”.
MISCHIEVOUS—SQUINT
My quickest solve to date.
Ooh. Good find. Took a little while, but I ended up with the OA.
Mischievous Squint after a while
MOCHI / INQUISITIVE Thought it would be the OA.
OA….but took awhile
Same. Surprised it wasn’t OA.
Excellent answer, All! I’m thinking Burgess Meredith., always with a twinkle in his eye.
As for me, I was Mochi Inquisitive, so I looked it up.
Same
same
A wicked glint!
Same, but a couple of minutes here, as I keep trying to eliminate painful letters like Q and V in the first word.
MISCHIEVOUS-SQUINT much more intuitive than OA.
Sigh…. LB wins again. Another day of triplets.
QUICHE ECONOMISTS SHIV
ECONOMISTS SQUISH HIVE
Is MOCHI really a word? Sheeeesh!!
If you’re Inquisitive, you could google Mochi.
MISCHIEVOUS – SQUINT also.
Cheshire cat eyes.
Same
TI: a naughty glance
My answer as well. I found INQUISITIVE first but didn’t think of MOCHI– settled on MISCHIEVOUS-SQUINT
Preferred as it reminds me of a John Prine song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmjnQjRvPUQ
Thank you Keith! Big smile as I listened. Hadn’t thought of that song in forever but it was popular in my highschool group
Got me listening to “back in the day” music, ended up on Little Feat Waiting for Columbus, perhaps the greatest live album of all time. One of the greatest and most underapreciated bands of all time too
Same… but it took me way tooooo long.
OA quickly today thank goodness
MOCHI – INQUISITIVE…
Hey, who you calling glutinous?
Mochi, made from rice that is glutinous yet glutenless, in case you’re wondering, or inquisitive.
MOCHI – INQUISITIVE
What is a Japanese rice cake, Alex?
Same. Never heard of mochi before, though… I saw inquisitive and I tried…. ‘is chomi a word?’ Nope. Mochi? Yup. Ok!
Same here! Between this and Spelling Bee, I’m expanding my vocabulary most days.
Found INQUISITIVE off the bat, then ETHONOMICS* which apparently is not accepted by LB yet a valid word signifying ethical economics (which we could do with a lot more of these days…)
Same, hooray!
OA but MOCHI was a WAG for me. I was pretty sure that a word ending in “I” was going to be needed for a solve and just typed out combinations of letters that would get me there and MOCHI worked on my third try.
MOCHI-INQUISITIVE
I learned a new word…Quotientive a not very efficient 8 which didn’t get me a 2. Hoping someone uses it successfully.
QUOTIENTIVE—ETHONOMICS†
† not in OED or MW but it appears to be a word.
From Google AI:
Ethonomics, short for ethical economics, is a concept that blends ethical considerations with traditional economic principles
How about something to go with quietistic?
(Fun) quietistic covenmonth. At the international witches annual monthly convention, they decided to try the Christian’s’ contemplative practices
UNMISCHIEVOUS-SQUIT
MOTIVIC-CHEQUINS*
*CHEQUINS good in OED, Wiktionary
OA.
OA
Mischievous- Squint
QOI—EMS—UCT—NHV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(UN)MISCHIEVOUS—SQUINTS
VOMITS—SQUENCH°
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MISCHIEVE—EQUICONTINUOUS°
MISQUOTE—ECHEVIN°
MUSCOVITIC—CHEQUIN°
Good ones with EQUICONTINUOUS and MUSCOVITIC!
Thanks! Lots of unaccepted words today it seems. Equivote, homothetic, cinquecentos, … as examples.
Mischievous squint. Another non OA day,what I did when I saw mochi. At least better than yesterdays grind
MISCHIEVOUS — SQUINT
I did find INQUISITIVE early, but am not familiar with MOCHI ( I may have seen it in the store, and am now inquisitive to try it!)
Also spent time trying to pair QUOTIENT/QUOTIENTS, SCHMO, and QUICHE
MISCHIEVOUS-SQUINT
Should’ve known better than to submit a 17/2 without looking for alternative, shorter 2 solves
Mischievous Squint…a wink?
Mischievous Squint
VOMITOUS SQUENCH* (MW OED)
Started with VENOMOUS SQUINCH but no T.
CIVETS SQUINCH HOMO
I’d have loved to have stumbled upon VOMITOUS / SQUENCH !
I was another mischievous squint.
Which is possibly the expression of the person who allowed “quim” into the letter box list of allowed words!
MISCHIEVOUS SQUINT here too.
MOCHI / INQUISITIVE
A few other words today:covetous,nicotinic,viscous,quoth thou,consistence,incontinence,omniscience,scientist,conceive,sieve
Good list! I found “non monotheistic” and was hoping for a 15-letter word.
Awesome!
also movietone
Hidden messages. Mom is nice, mom’ son is nice. Nicotine Vice. Thou shall not covet.
Yay, first guess! That’s never happened before for me. I suppose the Q made it a little easier, but I’m still proud of myself.
MOCHI – INQUISITIVE
A much loved breakfast food for me in the 90s. I was surprised so many people got it. I tried a lot of words this morning. Then after a (rare) afternoon nap, this popped up for me. Would have been pained if I had missed it.
MISCHIEVOUS – SQUINT
Defeated again. I had INQUISITIVE but couldn’t find a partner. Always make myself have an answer before coming here. It was INQUISITIVE-ECHO-OHM which is only one more letter than the OA.
OA
MISCHIEVOUS-SQUINT
THiS TOOK ME ALL DAY ON AND OFF. I THOUGHT THE END OF MISCHIEVOUS ENDED WITH ‘IOUS’ WHICH WON’T WORK. IN DESPERATION I TRIED IT WITHOUT THE ‘I’ AND VOILA!
AND APPARENTLY I’VE BEEN PRONOUNCING IT WRONG MY WHOLE LIFE TOO!
Haha. Me too. Might be a southern “thang”